Guinea

Mr. President, you will, I hope, allow me to add my voice to those of the representatives who have spoken before me in order to extend to you the sincere congratulations of the delegation of Guinea on the occasion of your brilliant election. We sincerely hope that, under your lofty guidance, the eighteenth session will fulfil the hopes placed in it by all our peoples. To that end, my delegation will spare no effort to facilitate your task by offering you its full and complete cooperation. 112. At the same time, I should like to express the gratitude of the Government of the Republic of Guinea for the honour and mark of confidence accorded it by the General Assembly in unanimously electing a representative of Guinea, Mr. Achkar Marof, as Chairman of the Fourth Committee. 113. From this rostrum it has been rightly recalled that at the dawn of its eighteenth year the League of Nations was a dying body. To that should be added the further recollection that the outstanding event which had hastened the decline of that first attempt at an international organization was precisely the colonial adventures of Mussolini's fascism, of which the heroic people of the Empire of Ethiopia were the victim —adventures which the League of Nations had been unable either to prevent or to discourage. 114. Although at the dawn of its eighteenth year the United Nations does not appear to be threatened with disintegration, the extreme dangers that colonial adventures represent for this Organization should nevertheless be emphasized. It is our hope that, having learned the bitter lessons of the Inglorious end of the League of Nations, the United Nations will devote itself, as a matter of absolute priority, to the final liquidation of the shameful and degrading system of foreign domination and its inevitable corollary: racial discrimination. It is in any event in this vital field that, in the last analysis we will gauge the success or failure of that supreme hope of all peoples —the United Nations. 115. For its part, Africa, now united and reconciled with itself, wishes to state at the outset its renewed determination to give our Organization its full cooperation in completing the task of decolonization that has been undertaken in every sphere. This African contribution will have a distinctive character this year because of the new situation that has arisen in our continent as a result of the historic summit conference at Addis Ababa. 116. It should be noted in this connexion that, quite apart from the undermining efforts of the neutral saboteurs of African unity, who are recruited from among the various forces and organizations which lived and prospered only by our division, many persons, States and organizations, though disinterested and sincere, have not, for lack of adequate information, appreciated the full historical and revolutionary significance, the political import and the diplomatic consequences of the meeting of the Heads of State and Government of the independent African States at Addis Ababa in May 19 63. That conference, because of its vital decisions, has already altered, and will increasingly alter, all relations between Africa and other States and international institutions. 117. In the resolution of decolonization adopted by the Conference of Addis Ababa, the African Heads of State and Government decided to proclaim 17 September 1963 African Liberation Day. The fact that that date coincided with the opening of the eighteenth session of the United Nations General Assembly is not fortuitous. Indeed, all the peoples and Governments of Africa consider it to be one of the essential roles of the United Nations to contribute decisively to the efforts of subject peoples to free themselves from foreign domination, and thus to make possible the achievement of the great ideals which gave birth to this Organization dedicated to the creation of a better world from which the spectre of war, poverty and injustice will have been banished forever. 118. Thus, the present struggle of the African peoples for the unconditional and total liberation of their continent figures prominently in the struggle in which the United Nations is itself engaged. That is why our peoples regard the United Nations as their natural ally and expect it to assume all its responsibilities with a view to helping them in the final eradication from Africa of colonialism, the main cause of our continent's backwardness in every field. Accordingly, 17 September 1963 was celebrated in all African countries and at United Nations Headquarters with enthusiasm and renewed determination to put an end as early as possible to the shameful colonial system which continues to stain the soil of Africa. 119. On that occasion, the Chief of State of Guinea, President Ahmed Sékou Touré, in an important statement, explained to the world the new African context as it emerged from the Addis Ababa Conference. Whereas formerly, he said, each of the African delegations to the United Nations General Assembly, according to the extend of its personal drive and political awareness, presented the problems of our continent and their solutions individually. In the form of separate proposals, henceforth this will no longer be the case. A divided and antagonistic Africa has now been replaced by a united Africa. A fighting Africa has replaced a passive Africa. Africa knows now that its own rehabilitation, its triumphant march towards a brilliant destiny, depend upon the unity which is the source of progress and upon the transforming efforts of its peoples, and no longer upon the mocking paternalism of the foreign Powers which have brutally dominated and atrociously exploited it, 120. The dynamic decisions unanimously made by the Heads of State and Government of our continent have had profound and far-reaching repercussions throughout the world. The voice of Africa, now aware of its backwardness and determined to control its own unique destiny, has been heard by all. That voice has loudly proclaimed the ardent resolve of the colonized peoples to recover their right to self-determination, to create new and happy conditions of life, and to achieve, by and for themselves, their total emancipation, which will overthrow every form of allegiance and servitude that is still imposed on them. 1.21. While desiring to set themselves free and to ensure an unfettered development for their civilizations and their economic, social and cultural values, the African peoples are no less determined to work directly towards the creation of a world which will be more humane because it will be more free, more brotherly and more co-operative, a world which will be more prosperous and happy, because it will finally be freed from the causes of war, domination and injustice. 122. It is our conviction that the African delegations, in contrast with the recent past, will deem it their duty not only to speak the same words, but to give their statements the same content —a content which will reflect, despite their distinctive forms of expression and minor philosophical differences, an identical awareness and a common will to affirm forcefully to the world the personality and the raison d'être of Africa within the concert of the United Nations. The African delegations will no longer be defined by their differences, because they are determined to play no longer into the hands of those who would divide Africa and still less to be the subject of the greed and Machiavellian schemes of those who would replace direct colonialism, which our peoples have fought, by disguised forms which entail no less indignity and subjection for our countries. 123. It is heartening to us all that the African delegations will henceforth speak only the language of Africa, that is to say, the language of historical truth, inspired by an acute sense of responsibility and a powerful drive to regenerate Africa and Its own personality. Since Addis Ababa, all arbitrary divisions, feelings of superiority and methods aimed at breaking up the human unity of Africa are things of the past. There will be no more talk of Africa north of the Sahara or of Africa south of the Sahara; there will be no more references from this rostrum to the alleged differences of values and abilities of the black and white peoples of Africa. All considerations based on colour are contrary to African ethics and alien to the political thought of our peoples. African civilization, as created by all our peoples, will have a brilliance that will be all the greater as all our nations will strive to perfect it as well as to Integrate it closely into the historical values of all mankind. 124. On the agenda items relating to developments in our continent, the statements of the various African delegations will complement each other but the African group as a whole will form a homogeneous, unbreakable front vis-à-vis the representatives of the imperialist Powers in order to express to them, unhesitatingly, our people's firm determination to combat every available means the pleadings of foreign domination and the harmful effects it has had on the body of Africa. 125. The resolutions adopted at the close of the Addis Ababa Conference are of themselves too clear and dynamic for there to be any further misunderstanding about the targets which they set for action by the African States and peoples, as for the attention of all nations of the world. That is why the eighteenth session of the United Nations General Assembly will be "the session of African unity and truth". 126. The Government of the Republic of Guinea wishes to assure all the African delegations that they have its full confidence and support in the diplomatic battle launched with a view to restoring to the African peoples the place they deserve and ensuring the success of the programme of emancipation adopted at Addis Ababa. This programme provides for: (1) The total and unconditional liberation of all the peoples of Africa, through the abolition of the shameful colonial system in so-called Portuguese Guinea, Angola, Mozambique, Nyasaland, Rhodesia and so on; (2) The removal of all foreign military bases from the African continent; (3) The complete decolonization of the economic, social and cultural structures of the African nations; (4) The organization and development of an integrated and well-adjusted African economy, through the establishment of an African common market and the coordination of plans for equipping and developing the African States; (5) The renewing of Africa's cultural and moral values; (6) The establishment, between a non-aligned Africa and all nations of the world, of relations of brotherly co-operation as between equals, founded on friendship and non-interference in domestic affairs. 127. While such a programme, at once dynamic and realistic, has won the unanimous approval of all thinking peoples throughout the world, and the concurrence and active support of all peace-loving and progress- loving nations, it should be pointed out that it has also caused great consternation among the forces of domination and aggression, which had previously regarded Africa as a world apart, an entity consisting of peoples that could be fleeced and exploited unrestrictedly. 128. In fact, since the end of the Conference of Heads of African States and Governments, the imperialist Powers and the neo-colonialist forces have unleashed a vast campaign to sabotage African unity. Gambling on the effects of under-development, these Powers and these forces of evil indiscriminately resort to lies, distortion, humbug and corruption, and even to menace and outrage in the African countries. Every difficulty is heightened by the possibility of direct interference with nations which are not in full and sovereign control of their own affairs. 129. In States whose sovereignty is beyond reach of the neo-colonialists, economic deficiencies and financial difficulties are cynically exploited and aggravated by a campaign of internal subversion, designed to create division and paralysis under cover of which neocolonialism can step in. The events that have shaken the political and social life of Africa since Addis Ababa have not been spontaneous. All of them fall within the context of the border-line separating legitimate African interests from the illegitimate interests of neocolonialism. These events eloquently prove that the peace and stability of our States can result neither from the presence of foreign military bases on African soil nor from the words of friendship spoken by the former metropolitan countries, but only, and in the first place, from the militant mobilization and effective unity of the peoples of each one of our nations. 130. Progress in Africa will be the handiwork of the Africans —for progress cannot be imported, nor can it be obtained by begging. On the contrary, it calls for faith and determination in action with a view to transforming the living conditions of peoples and individuals. Its pursuit and intensification, which require from peoples and individuals a constant effort to excel, can be based only on a high sense of mission and on continuous action. In order to develop, Africa must be reborn— a process depending in its turn on the survival of Africa's "communocratic" spirit and on the development of all its material and moral values, of which none of its nations, taken singly, can be a true embodiment. 131. African unity remains the supreme and, indeed, the only instrument for expediting the emancipation of our peoples. It places at the disposal of each of our States all the means available to Africa as a whole. 132. The main preoccupation of the Government of the Republic of Guinea with regard to decolonization is shared by the thirty-two African countries, all of which realize the vital need for colonialism to disappear, once and for all, from the face of the earth. How, then, could we fail to be concerned at the attitude of the colonial Powers in face of the legitimate impatience and determination of the peoples which they enslave in defiance of the aspirations of those peoples and of the unanimous opinion of all the African States? 133. As its sole response to these demands for freedom voiced by all Africans, and by way of reaction to the recommendations and decisions of the General Assembly and the Security Council, the Portuguese Government has chosen to strengthen its repressive apparatus in so-called Portuguese Guinea, Angola and Mozambique. It is an open secret that in the first two of these territories war is raging and that the Portuguese Government, without the support it is receiving from its allies, would already have been compelled to yield to the imperatives of decolonization. It is a matter of common knowledge that the Portuguese and other mercenaries are suffering bloody defeats in Angola and so-called Portuguese Guinea. 134. The partial control that Portugal continues to exercise over these two territories is crumbling day by day and, unless Portugal heeds the voice of reason, it might well, in its efforts to extricate itself from the colonial quagmire into which it has led its people, plunge its allies —and in consequence a great many nations— into the horrors of a general war in which they would be confronted by all the African States. 135. It must be clearly said to Portugal and to those supporting Portugal that there is only one realistic and objective solution for the problems posed by Angola, Mozambique, so-called Portuguese Guinea, the Cape Verde Islands, São Tomé and Príncipe —namely, recognition of the right of the peoples of these territories to self-determination and immediate negotiations with the legitimate representatives of those peoples with a view to their being granted complete and unconditional independence. 136. While Portugal's attitude is characterized by arrogance and its behaviour by absurdity, the attitude of the Republic of South Africa borders on insanity. The forms of colonialism which that iniquitous Government enforces in the two territories under its rule —South West Africa and South Africa itself— have aroused universal indignation. There is no need to describe or to condemn apartheid. This has already been abundantly done throughout the world. At the last session of the General Assembly, practical measures were adopted which must be strengthened this year along the lines so clearly indicated in the important report [A/5497] of the Special Committee on the policies of apartheid of the Government of the racist minority in South Africa. Any weakness displayed by our Organization on this issue might result in a catastrophe for Africa and for the world, a catastrophe that Africa for its part is determined at all costs to prevent. That is why the responsibility of all the Member States, and particularly of the major Western Powers, is of such vital importance. For, while all the spokesmen of Member States have recognized the seriousness of the situation in South Africa, there are some who still remain satisfied with purely oral condemnations, thinly disguising the de facto collusion and tacit complicity of their Governments with the representatives of the white minority in South Africa. 137. The nations of the world, which are called upon to participate in Africa's struggle for a better condition —a struggle which is inseparable from the noble and universal cause of justice and freedom for all— must choose between Salazar and Verwoerd on the one hand and the African States on the other. From now on, the sincere intentions of each State must be reflected solely in action. Henceforth, Africa will turn its spotlight on all of them. Taking the offensive, Africa will compel its partners abroad to declare themselves either for or against the equality of peoples, for or against social justice and for or against progress. 138. British colonialism, though tottering, still tries desperately to cling to a few shreds of the former British Empire. One of the principal ones is Southern Rhodesia, in regard to which the British Leaders have shown that they are resolved to depart from the policy of decolonization practised by them elsewhere. Although our concern in this instance is as keen as in the case of the Portuguese and the South African colonies, we do not wish to despair of the spirit of understanding of the United Kingdom Government, which we trust, for its own sake, will be careful not to sacrifice the fruits of its decolonization policy merely in order to satisfy the handful of hot-headed and unreasonable settlers who are oppressing millions of Africans in Southern Rhodesia. 139. Aside from the examples just mentioned, although decolonization in its legal form is now accepted by the overwhelming majority of States, it would be a mistake to think that total decolonization had made comparable headway. It is not enough simply to accept the formal transformation of one legal situation into another which is new and more acceptable. Decolonization necessarily implies the qualitative transformation of all the structures of the former colonial society, in order for them to be adapted to the true circumstances and needs of the country made legally free. Such decolonization at the political, economic, social and cultural levels is a sine qua non for the speedy and harmonious development of the under-developed countries. 140. The liberation and rebirth of Africa impose on us the duty of proclaiming openly that our struggle in this field concerns, not only the African States, but Africans and their descendants wherever they may be. For this reason we pay warm tribute to the present efforts of the American Negroes to free themselves from the racial segregation system of which they are the victims. This intolerable discrimination is but a by-product of colonization, a result of the spoliation suffered by Africa during the many intrusions by European adventurers. The struggle of the American Negroes is part of the general struggle of Africa to secure recognition of the equality of men of every race. 141. It is accordingly appropriate to pay sincere and glowing tribute to the Government of the United States and particularly to President Kennedy for their courageous stand in favour of the American Negro* s rehabilitation, and to assure them of our full support in this endeavour, which all Africans appreciate since they are convinced that any attack upon persons of African origin is an attack upon all Africans and upon the dignity of mankind as a whole. 142. One of the fundamental demands of the Addis Ababa Conference, resulting from our renewed will to strengthen the United Nations, was for the decolonization of all existing structures and practices in our Organization. 143. Since 1958, the delegation of the Republic of Guinea has been among those which have continued to insist, here and elsewhere, on the imperative need to adapt the Charter of our Organization to the new facts of international life. 144. After five years of fruitless effort, we must publicly express the painful impression we have gained of what seems to be a clear desire to obstruct, in the interest of maintaining a status quo which constitutes not merely a source of injustice and iniquity but also the prime factor in the weakening of the United Nations. Owing to the inadequate numerical representation of Africa and Asia at the San Francisco Conference, 27 the States which, dominating the international scene after the victory over nazism and fascism, had met together in order to organize their regained freedom and to establish, through the institution of a system of justice for all peoples, the conditions for true peace and security for all, sacrificed the freedom of the peoples most needing these things, and the interests of those who had been the greatest sufferers —the colonial peoples. Through alliances and the allocations of spheres of influence, the colonial Powers succeeded to some extent in legalizing their improper presence and usurped privileges, mainly in Africa and Asia. Moreover, they succeeded in involving the United Nations in their colonial adventures, through the Trusteeship System 145. After the adoption in 1960 of the Declaration on the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples [General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV)], which we in Africa and Asia regarded as happily redressing the grave injustices committed against our peoples at San Francisco, we believed —as we continue to believe— that the United Nations must be the first to set the example of decolonization. 146. To this end, all Trust Territories should be liberated, unconditionally and without delay, from the colonial yoke and allowed to enjoy full independence and freedom immediately. The Trusteeship Council, then having no further raison d'être, could be put to sleep pending its complete abolition in connexion with the revision of the Charter, which we hope will take place soon. 147. Moreover, since in our view the Declaration on independence has rendered obsolete Chapter XI of the Charter and consequently the transmission of information on colonial territories, all United Nations bodies operating in this field should be purely and simply done away with. This applies in particular to the special Committee on Information from Non-Governing Territories, which during the eighteenth session we should decide to dissolve on the ground that it no longer has any valid terms of reference. 148. On the other hand, the Committee dealing with decolonization should be given adequate and sufficiently precise powers, together with the requisite means, to complete the work of peaceful decolonization carried out under the auspices of the United Nations. The Fourth Committee, with its original mandate then discharged, could be converted into a special committee on international co-operation for the benefit of the under-developed countries. 149. But one of the shortcomings which most claimed the attention of the Heads of African States was the unjust and inadequate representation of Africa in the main organs of the United Nations. The present position of the Asian and African countries in the Organization leads to the bitter conclusion that our countries, although they have been admitted as Members, have not been accepted. It seems that the first occupants are closing their ranks in order to confine our participation to debates in the General Assembly. 150. We must say, clearly and unequivocally, that we shall no longer tolerate this state of affairs. Africa, for its part, decided at Addis Ababa to meet all its obligations under the Charter —including its financial obligations— but also to claim all its rights without restriction. It henceforth rejects the role of speechifier which some seek to reserve for it in the General Assembly, and is determined, by its specific and effective presence in the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council and all the other United Nations organs, to participate in the fruitful and creative life of our Organization. It intends to make its contribution to all initiatives and to take part in the formulation and proper implementation of all decisions. 151. This can be achieved by two means, which, far from conflicting with each other, are in our view necessarily interrelated and complementary. One is the revision or amendment of the Charter; the other, redistribution of existing or subsequently established seats. 152. Up to now, the two great ideological families that preceded us in the United Nations have, by their behaviour, rendered both of these means inoperative. Thus the socialist countries have always enthusiastically supported the redistribution of seats while opposing any increase in the number of seats through revision or amendment of the Charter, whereas the Western countries as a whole oppose any redistribution and favour the revision or amendment of the Charter. The result of this situation is that the African and Asian States find themselves either without specific representation or with a representation so meagre as to constitute a violation of the Charter and a veritable insult to their dignity. 153. This is why we for our part say that the most sustained efforts must be made to secure the revision of the Charter in order that this basic instrument of international life may be adapted to the new requirements of our times. If these efforts failed to produce positive results by next year, all Heads of State and Government, of Members of the Organization should, on the occasion of the celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the United Nations, be invited to attend the regular session of the General Assembly in 1965 with a view to the revision of the Charter. 154. In the meantime, however, we shall propose during the current session an amendment to the Charter dealing with the composition of the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council to the end that all geographical areas in the world, and more particularly the African and Asian continents may be adequately represented in those two organs. Such representation is for us the normal, logical and necessary consequence of our independence and admission to membership in the United Nations. In this connexion, may I say to the socialist countries that their position in this matter merits reconsideration and readjustment, since it conflicts with the support hitherto given for the independence of all colonized countries and may needlessly damage the good relations with the socialist countries that the nations of Africa and Asia wish to maintain and strengthen. 155. How could we willingly accept a situation in which the reparation of the injustices committed by others against the Chinese people since 1950 —injustices which we have always denounced— is regarded as a prerequisite for the reparation of the grave injustices which for centuries have been meted out to the African peoples? The just representation which we claim for the African and Asian countries and the restoration to the People's Republic of China of its legitimate rights are two different questions which should not be linked together; and the leaders in Peking have, for their part, had the wisdom and foresight never to establish such a link. 156. To conclude on this point, we earnestly appeal once more to the socialist countries and particularly our friend the Government of the USSR, which have already done so much on behalf of decolonization, not to oppose the method which can in practice ensure equitable representation for the African and Asian States —the immediate amendment of the provisions of the Charter which relate to the composition of the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council. 157. So far as the Western and Latin American countries are concerned —the latter being our allies in the anti-colonialist struggle— we say to them: whatever may be the result of our efforts regarding the revision or amendment of the Charter, it is essential to proceed to the equitable redistribution of all existing seats or of seats subsequently to be created. The London "gentlemen's agreement" of 1946, prepared at a time when Africa had only three Member States, obviously cannot be treated as sacrosanct without there being a violation —intolerable in our view— of the United Nations Charter, Since 1946, the number of Member States has more than doubled; it has risen from fifty-one to 111, the bulk of the new Members coming from the continents of Africa and Asia as a result of the collapse of the colonial empires. 158. Our two continents account in themselves for more than half of the total membership of the United Nations. If the provisions of the Charter were correctly applied and elementary justice observed, Africa and Asia should receive at least half of the non-permanent seats In the Security Council, and half of the total number of seats in the Economic and Social Council. Under the London "gentlemen's agreement", no seat whatsoever was reserved for Africa, either in the Security Council or in the Economic and Social Council. If Africa is represented symbolically in these two organs as a result of arrangements which obviously cannot satisfy either our thirst for justice or the requirements of our dignity, the situation demands of these States that are well provided for a measure of understanding which is the best safeguard of their own interests. Europe, not satisfied with three permanent seats in the Security Council, also holds two non-permanent seats; whereas Africa, a continent forgotten by the diplomats of San Francisco, has no permanent seat and could slip in only under cover of the Commonwealth and the Middle East, to obtain in the Council, temporarily, two bracket-seats. 159. In the Economic and Social Council the situation is even more scandalous. The thirty-two African States, accounting for nearly one third of the Organization's membership, hold only two seats out of eighteen, 160. One has merely to remember that at least three- quarters of the activities of the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council are concerned directly or indirectly with the development of the African continent, in order to realize the paradoxical nature of Africa's present representation in these two bodies. For us this situation, in this context, raises considerations not only of honour and dignity, but also of vital interests which must be safeguarded if our continent and its people are to develop harmoniously. Our Western and Latin American friends should understand this and permit, without reservations, the amicable redistribution, as from this eighteenth session, of the seats now existing or to be created. 161. The African States will make specific proposals in the competent Committees with regard tooth to Charter revision and to the redistribution of existing seats on a strictly geographic basis. Moreover, in doing so they will not fail to point out the anomaly of denying any specific representation to the African continent while, contrary to the provisions of the Charter, establishing special representation for certain political groups such as the British Commonwealth. 162. We shall demand, in accordance with the Charter, that representation be established on a purely geographic —that is to say, continental— basis, convinced as we are that our brothers in Africa and Asia who are members of the Commonwealth fully share our ideas and feelings and prefer to secure representation for themselves within their respective continents rather than through bodies whose principles and objectives cannot fully satisfy the basic aspirations of our peoples. 163. Lastly, we wish to state here and now that, when the Charter is revised, Africa in its turn will demand that, like all the other continents, it be given a permanent seat on the Security Council. It will also demand that the concept of "great Power", as formulated in 1945, be revised. 164. In the same context, we cannot but stress the immense harm done to our Organization by maintenance of the paradoxical fiction that the island of Formosa is a great Power having specific responsibilities with regard to the preservation of international peace and security. Intentions and fictions have never made history. For this reason the Republic of Guinea has constantly urged, ever since its appearance on the international scene, the restoration to the Government of the People's Republic of China of its legitimate membership. It would be doing justice simultaneously to the Chinese people, to the Asian continent and above all to the international community to associate in our debates, undertakings and decisions the largest State in the world, which in itself includes more than one quarter of the world's population. 165. Without the People's Republic of China, it is impossible to find a satisfactory solution for a number of serious problems disturbing the world; so much so that the great Western Powers —the United States, the United Kingdom and France— had to secure the participation of the Peking Government in the settlement of the serious crises of Indo-China and Laos. Such realism, which we welcomed at the time and which made it possible to halt fratricidal hostilities and save Asia from immense disasters, should impel all the States Members of our Organization —whatever their sympathies or antipathies— to arrange for the Government of the People's Republic of China to be seated among us; otherwise it will not be possible to solve such problems as disarmament, which has been the subject of so many eloquent speeches made in this building and elsewhere. 166. For the United Nations, the absence of the People's Republic of China is so grave and damaging a mutilation that we should all bury our prejudices, put aside any sentimental considerations and decide, before it is too late, to rid ourselves of all pretences and to bring the People's Republic of China among us in order that it may share our burdens and responsibilities in the building of a better and more equitable world, a world freed from the fear of war. 167. We can assure you that, in accepting among us the People's Republic of China, no state could make sacrifices greater than those made by the African States, which have suffered and continue to suffer when they see beside them the representatives of the executioners of their peoples —the spokesman for Portuguese colonialism and the representative of the nazism imposed through fire and sword in South Africa by the racist and war-mongering minority. 168. Another requirement stemming from the Addis Ababa Conference is that our Organization should reappraise, with a view to their adaptation to the new situation of Africa, the structures, functioning and practical methods of international co-operation in the economic, social and cultural fields. The programmes planned and organized for the benefit of individual African States should be increasingly replaced by regional programmes covering several States that have the same geographic characteristics and similar, or complementary economic resources to develop. 169. The arbitrary, fanciful and sometimes microscopic nature of the random subdivision of territories effected through the conquests of the European Powers, which we have been led to regard as peace-time boundaries serving as a basis for our task of reconstructing our continent on reasonable and viable principles, in fact prevents any real economic development. Only within the framework of broader units can international co-operation for the benefit of Africa yield all the fruits that we have a right to expect from this vital aspect of our Organization's activities. 170. In this context of international co-operation to be reappraised and readapted to the requirements of our era, we are happy to welcome most sincerely the initiative of the United Nations in planning a world Conference on Trade and Development for 1964. We hope that on this occasion all the participants will make a real effort to renounce mercantilist practices and scandalous privileges, with a view to laying the essential foundations for a system of justice and stability in international trade. That, in any event, is the only way to bridge the widening gap which so dangerously separates the highly developed countries from the developing countries. The latter are compelled today to content themselves with the charity offered them by the former in the guise of aid and assistance, often representing an insignificant fraction of the amounts wrongfully extracted from them through the inequitable trade system in force today. 171. For the peoples of Africa and Asia the success of the Conference on Trade and Development will, we hope, make it possible to feed adequately and raise the level of living of millions of human beings who today lead lives of poverty. Such success would, in our view, be of much greater help In maintaining and strengthening world peace than the displays of luxury taking place in the countries which are well provided for and sometimes seem to forget the misery and suffering surrounding them. 172. If we have been impelled to concentrate our statement upon the question of decolonization, which is fundamental and In our view merits priority, it is because we regard decolonization as the indispensable prerequisite for the achievement of peace through disarmament. It is an essential principle of the Guinean Government never to confuse the assigned purpose of the action of peoples with the means that they may employ, in the light of circumstances and of their economic, social and political condition. The Democratic Party of Guinea has accordingly evolved a theory of action, a political philosophy, which should permit it at all times effectively to serve the enduring interests of the peoples, with a keen sense of its responsibilities in face of the manoeuvres designed to lay hands upon such interests for the exclusive profit of a minority or a bloc. The problem of peace has always received the watchful attention of our people and its Government. Peace, as an essential condition for any economic, social or human development, is regarded by the Republic of Guinea as the supreme good, to the realization of which every thinking people and every progressive party and State have the sacred duty to contribute. 173. Peace is indivisible; for all peoples, without distinction, it is either present or absent. Without universal peace-mindedness, and without peaceful relations in political and economic intercourse between nations, peace cannot prevail over the unjust motives of domination, exploitation and disqualification of peoples. It is in that respect that peace necessarily requires relations of equality and brotherly co-operation between all the nations of the world, in a general atmosphere of true liberty and genuine democracy. Such a militant conception of peace inspires the taking of a stand by each man, each people and all mankind in the fight that they must ceaselessly and ruthlessly carry on against everything making for war, in order to ensure that each and every individual, in a more humanized universe, will have personality, security, well-being and balance, The struggle in which the people of Guinea is engaged, side by side with the other African peoples, for our continent's complete liberation from foreign domination and from the economic, military and cultural enslavement of the African nations is a decisive factor in its contribution to the great cause of world peace. 174. Moreover, the targets set by the Republic of Guinea for the establishment and strengthening of relations of peaceful co-operation with all nations of the world, irrespective of continent, colour or religion, also involve the satisfaction of aspirations common to all peoples in connexion with the advent of a more united, fraternal and more cohesive world. 175. The Guinean people is fundamentally opposed to war, and recognizes no justification whatever for imposing it on a people. The Republic of Guinea condemns war and refuses to choose between total and partial armament, for no human being, given his will to survive, would accept an obligation to choose between quick death and slow death. If life is the supreme good of mankind, then peace, upon which the lives of all men depend, deserves to be defended with resolute and unflagging courage. 176. The Guinean Government supports all Governments which are sincerely working for the coming of a peaceful world, and solemnly declares that peace depends more on the taking of a stand by all men, and on their will to survive and progress, than on diplomatic discussions at the level of the militarily most developed States. 177. The safeguarding of peace is not the task of the great alone; it is the business of all the peoples, which for more than one reason are concerned. Peace is not donated, nor is it invented; it is built and secured in the daily action of developing the economic, social and human values of peoples, and in their action for unity and concrete solidarity. 178. One of the problems that have given the United Nations serious cause for anxiety during the past three years and involved a potential menace to international peace and security is the problem of the Congo. The present situation of this brother people deserves the attention of all our delegations. We are among those who have always believed and said that the true solution to the problem of the Congo will be the solution achieved through the free choice of the Congolese themselves, in conformity with the true interest of the Congolese people and the dictates of its economic and social development, for the full flowering of its personality. 179. The Guinean Government, like all other African Governments, support the Congolese Government's request for a six-month extension of the presence of the United Nations forces in the Congo. This well-considered support takes account of the Congo's determination to make every possible effort to ensure through its own resources, or better still within the framework of the Organization of African Unity, the necessary defence and security of that country, not only for its own sake but for the sake of all Africa and for that of peace. 180. It would be a mistake, however, to believe that the more or less prolonged presence of United Nations forces in the Congo will solve the problem of the stability, and in itself ensure the security, of the country. There are political causes for the evils from which the Congo has suffered and is still suffering, Only a political solution, therefore, taking account of the aspirations and the interests of all strata of society, of all political and trade-union movements, can ensure stability and prosperity for the Congo, We do not doubt that our Congolese brothers, fully understanding this fact, will create those political conditions. In such a programme, the Congolese Government can rely on the full support of the Guinean Government. 181. While all the speakers heard during this general debate have expressed their Government's satisfaction at the relaxation of tension between the great Powers, the delegation of the Republic of Guinea, for its part, would like to state once again its conviction that, while a genuine "détente" is an essential factor for the building of peace, "détente" would not be genuine if it were limited to relations between the "super-great". 182. Africa has not yet achieved the "detente" it has always desired —that which will be produced by putting an end to the enslavement of a large number of our peoples, and to the disqualification to which they are subjected. The genuine "détente” which we earnestly desire must take account of that evident truth. We hope that all the nations working for peace will, in order to spare us the impression that we have been the victims of a bogus "detente", give us practical help in freeing ourselves from the current or potential wars engendered by the colonial system. 183. The Heads of African States and Governments meeting at Addis Ababa formally called upon the allies of the colonial Powers to choose between their friendship for the African peoples and their support for the Powers now oppressing those peoples. The peoples of Africa were astounded by the attitude of those allies in the Security Council during the recent debates on Portuguese colonialism, the policies of apartheid and the situation in Southern Rhodesia. It is the duty of an anxious Africa to ask the Government of the United States of America, the United Kingdom and France, from this rostrum, whether that is their reply to the appeal of Addis Ababa. 184. We believe that all the Powers sincerely desiring an international "détente" and the achievement of universal peace will make a clear choice in favour of the oppressed peoples. That is the necessary condition for a genuine "detente", with which Africa will associate itself unreservedly in order that all its creative potentialities, thus liberated, may contribute fully to the building and perfecting of the world envisaged by the Charter of the United Nations. 185. We have made a point of telling you openly of our anxieties and our profound aspirations: a united will to transform the nature of African society, an effective contribution by Africa to the life of the world, and unrestricted co-operation with all States for the building of a world of justice, freedom, progress and peace. 186. Such is the programme which, on behalf of the people of Guinea and as part of the concerted action of the independent States of Africa, we have the honour to submit for your examination and appraisal.